Dissertation Research - Reconstructing Trincheras: A Study of the Role of Cerros De Trincheras in the South-West United States and Northern Mexico

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Under the direction of Dr. Randall McGuire, MsBridget Zavala will conduct archaeological fieldwork in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Ms. Zavala's research will help to systematize and gather information on the enigmatic site-type 'cerros de trincheras' or hills with stone terraces and walls. Recent investigations at a handful of the terraced hill sites now show that cerros were a long-lived architectural tradition beginning 3000 years before present and continuing well into the 15th century. Cerros de trincheras are found in the modern day states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Arizona and New Mexico, crosscutting five archaeological traditions. To date, different researchers have posited multiple functional explanations for these sites- either defensive, ceremonial, architectural or residential. In the past two decades, investigators involved in the first large scale excavations of these sites at Cerro Juanaquena, Chihuahua; Las Trincheras, Sonora; the Fortress in New Mexico; Linda Vista Hill, Tumamoc Hill and Cerro Prieto in Arizona have finally collected the kind of data that will make it possible to reassess our understanding of terraced hill life. Wit is now known that these particular cerros were multidimensional in their function and they were the site of many of the activities of daily life. Ms.. Zavala will conduct badly needed cross-regional analyses of the role of cerros de trincheras in their regional and chronological settings. Fieldwork in Sonora and Arizona will involve site recording of at least 31 cerros de trincheras on both sides of the U.S./ Mexico border. Sites will be mapped, and details will be recorded.. A GIS database will then be created to articulate field observations with information gathered by other projects. Ms. Zavala's investigation will either verify or discredit one of three working hypotheses for cerros de trincheras: 1) all cerros de trincheras had one specialized use: defense, agriculture, ceremonial or habitation that remained constant through time; 2) cerros de trincheras had several specialized uses: defense, agriculture, ceremonial or habitation that remained constant through time; or 3) the site type was used in different ways at different times by different archaeological traditions. This research will not only help to dispell the mystery surrounding cerros de trincheras but it will also help address the role of upland sites all over the world. Hilltop enclosures in the southeastern U.S. and hill forts in Ireland and England, among others, all evoke the same kind of questions from anthropologists yet they are often ignored in comparison to their flood plain counterparts. We need to look uphill and incorporate upland pre-Hispanic land use if we intend to create accurate reconstructions of the past. This project will also contribute to training a promising young scientist.